The use of wireless sensing for monitoring an individual's physiological parameters has been gaining interest in recent years. The shift towards wireless sensing and away from traditional tethered measurement procedures performed at healthcare facilities may be attributed to the numerous potential benefits associated with wireless based recordings. Such benefits include improvement of patients' quality of life, elimination of periodic costs associated with testing at healthcare facilities, decreased risk of infection, and the possibility of earlier detection of health-status degradation.
Wireless sensing has shown potential benefits for the continuous-time measurement of physiological data. One such application is the recording of intraocular pressure (IOP) for patients with glaucoma. Real-time, continuous and accurate intra-ocular pressure recordings will provide a substantial improvement in the quality of care provided to glaucoma patients, as significant changes in IOP can occur in a period of hours or even minutes. Real-time, continuous monitoring will greatly improve the quality of care provided to glaucoma patients through accurate pressure monitoring, providing the opportunity for complete management of the disease progression.
Ultra-low-power circuits facilitate the use of inductively-coupled power for implantable wireless systems, enabling real-time continuous monitoring of physiologic signals. Compact circuit size is also desirable for implantable sensor systems.
What is needed, therefore, are techniques for wirelessly monitoring intra-ocular pressure.